LACTIC ACID BACTERIA FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ETHANOL FROM BIOMASS MATERIAL

Summary of the technology

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to methods and recombinant lactic acid bacteria for the production of ethanol from biomass material by a consolidated bioprocessing approach.
In ensiled crops, lactic acid bacteria convert low molecular weight carbohydrates into lactic acid, which is the main preservative in ensilage. In some crops it is important to add lactic acid bacteria as an inoculums during ensiling in order to boost fermentation in the initial stages.
In crops such as grass or Lucerne, the low amount of fermentable carbohydrate limits lactic fermentation, which leads to unreliable preservation of the silage. This can be artificially improved by adding sources of fermentable carbohydrates, or enzymes which release the latter from, for example, plant fibre. Although cellulase is sold and used as a commercial silage additive, its application is expensive. Therefore the introduction of lignocellulose processing enzymes, such as cellulase and xylanase in lactic acid bacteria has been proposed.
The present inventors propose transformation with a synergistic combination of cellulase and xylanase genes which enable lactic acid bacteria to release higher amounts of fermentable carbohydrates from ensiled crops, thereby improving silage quality.

Project ID : 2-2014-803

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